Thursday, April 21, 2016

DRUG POLICY REFORM POLICE OFFICER WINS FREE SPEECH CASEVictoria Police Department Ordered to Pay Highest-Ever Award for Injury to Dignity in a Political Belief Case in CanadaVictoria, B.C., Canada - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) speaker and board member Constable David Bratzer won a free speech case against his employer, the Victoria Police Department (VicPD), for discrimination against his political beliefs. The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled the Victoria Police Department discriminated against Officer Bratzer by unlawfully restricting his off-duty activities as a drug policy reform advocate. The decision clarifies the strong protections for political belief offered by the British Columbia Human Rights Code.Throughout the case, Bratzer has been unable to speak publicly as a representative of LEAP but has remained active through leadership roles. His valuable expertise on drug policy has been noticeably absent from the public discourse in Canada.“It’s been a difficult road, but I’m happy to finally have my voice back,” said Constable David Bratzer.

The Tribunal determined that employers have a duty to accommodate the political beliefs of employees (paragraph 323).

The Tribunal recognized that the protection offered by the Code for political belief includes not only the belief itself but also the manner of expression (paragraphs 274 and 276).

The Tribunal ruled that employers cannot force their employees to ask for permission in advance of expressing their political beliefs (paragraph 401).

The Tribunal recognized the right of police officers to participate in political advocacy and in the affairs of a political party (paragraphs 321 and 386).

VicPD has been ordered to pay $20,000 to Constable Bratzer for injury to dignity, the highest ever award for a political belief case in Canada (paragraphs 437 and 438).

“If officers of the law can’t speak up about their political beliefs, their ability to work toward improving their communities and the policing institution is constrained,” said Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director of LEAP. LEAP is a nonprofit group of police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals working to end the War on Drugs. The drug war has created dangerous underground markets and gang violence, fostered corruption and racism, and largely ignored the public health crisis of addiction.To access the official case decision documents, please visit http://tinyurl.com/zwdneyo###

Tallahassee,
FL – Today, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed civil asset forfeiture reform
bill SB 1044. The new
law strengthens individual property rights and holds police departments to a
higher standard of record keeping and accountability. Civil forfeiture is a
legal process by which law enforcement can seize property and money from
individuals merely suspected of criminal activity, even if they are never
charged with a crime. The practice has fostered questionable incentives for law
enforcement agencies to benefit financially from a process that infringes on
civil liberties. SB 1044 was unanimously supported in both the House and Senate
and lauded by civil liberties and law enforcement organizations. According to a
new poll from Drug
Policy Action, 84% of registered Florida voters believe that police
should not be able to seize and permanently take away property from people who
have not been convicted of a crime.

“As enforcers
of the law, we have a duty to stand up against policies that are unjust and
recognize when our voices can be a powerful force for positive change,” said Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director
for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of criminal
justice professionals working to end civil forfeiture and the drug war. “Although
there is more to be done, the Florida Sheriff’s Association and the Florida
Association of Police Chiefs deserve recognition for making steps towards more
sensible policies.”

Also
on the lengthy list of SB 1044 supporters are the Drug Policy Alliance, Florida
American Civil Liberties Union, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, the Institute for Justice, and Americans for Tax Reform.

The
bill changes Florida’s Contraband
Forfeiture Act, which decides how and when law enforcement agencies are able to
seize assets. SB
1044 requires that police
make an arrest in order to seize property in most cases, increases the
evidentiary standard of proof from “clear and convincing” to “proof beyond a
reasonable doubt,” holds the agency accountable for damages on seized property,
and outlines reporting requirements for agencies to track forfeitures. No such
requirement existed previously. Currently, Florida law enforcement agencies
seizing assets of more than $15,000 per year must donate 15% of those assets to
predetermined programs. The new law increases the donation requirement to 25%.

In nearly
every U.S. state, law enforcement can seize money and property from individuals
without seeking or obtaining a criminal conviction. Civil forfeiture places the
legal burden of proof on the property (in-rem) rather than the owner (in
personam), meaning the property is being charged rather than the person who
owns it. Another type of forfeiture called “criminal forfeiture” requires the
officer to obtain a conviction and ultimately accuses the property owner of
criminal activity rather than the property being seized. This practice is
generally considered beneficial because it aligns with the constitutional right
to due process. According to a 2015 report by the Institute
for Justice, 87%
of forfeitures in the U.S. between 1997 and 2013 were civil and only 13%
involved criminal cases. The same report graded Florida’s previous civil
forfeiture laws with a D+ for abysmal individual property rights and unethical incentive
for law enforcement to profit from these interactions.

LEAP
is committed to ending decades of unconstitutional civil forfeiture laws that
have damaged the trust between communities and police, fostered a misuse of law
enforcement power, and eroded civil liberties nationwide.